Chapter 9
“Eat up, Elaine the Ultimate Shooter. The dorm cafeteria food here is really delicious,” Leo said, his face blushing shyly.
Hearing my name suddenly made my appetite drop—or was that just my imagination?
“Yeah, yeah! Aunt Bess’s cooking is absolutely amazing!” Daren nodded vigorously in agreement beside him.
Calling a kitchen staff member “aunt” — yep, this is definitely a domestic game. Anyway, if they say it’s that good, I couldn’t help but feel a little excited.
I scooped a spoonful of rice with a nervous expression and put it in my mouth. And…
“Wow, this is seriously delicious.”
What is this fried rice? It tasted like the Chinese characters 美味 (“delicious”) were giant and floating right behind me. Come to think of it, this cafeteria also doubled as a crafting facility to raise “Cooking” proficiency. Any member of the Hero Corps could freely use this kitchen.
I hadn’t tried the crafting content yet, so I wasn’t sure, but I thought the NPC who teaches the recipes was that woman, Bess.
Could I learn that incredible touch?
I kept scooping passionately, and before I knew it, the little mountain of fried rice was completely gone.
I had worried whether I could finish it, but that worry turned out to be pointless. The heroes in this world apparently had truly great appetites.
“Ha, that was satisfying.”
I set my spoon down with a proud face. It was the first proper meal I’d eaten since arriving in this world, and it had been very satisfying. Like most Koreans, I’d always taken my meals seriously.
“So, what do I do now?”
According to the original game story, there were no more scheduled events for now. After sleeping and then seeing Belinda to finish the remaining business, quests on Midail Island would begin.
“Maybe I’ll just sleep early.”
I rubbed the back of my neck and left the cafeteria. The airship terrorist incident had sucked the energy right out of me; I was utterly exhausted. Rena headed toward the dorm room with me, but she looked like she’d sleep later and instead settled on the living room sofa.
“Then I’ll head in first. Good night.”
I said that to the back of her head, but her reply was as curt as ever.
“Hmph, do whatever.”
Haha, so cold. So cold.
I sighed quietly—just enough so she couldn’t hear—and opened the door to the room.
There was a slight step at the entrance, with a place to take off shoes. Hooray for domestic game realism!
As a Korean used to floor seating, I had briefly worried we’d have to wear shoes inside, but thankfully the game was pleasingly Korean in that odd little detail. I neatly took off my shoes and went into the room.
As soon as I entered I took off my cardigan, hung it on the hanger, and flopped onto the bed.
“Oh, nice cushioning.”
As I’d expect from a famous Hero Corps, the mattress was good. No sooner had my head hit the pillow than I fell asleep.
There were so many things to think about—why this had happened to me, how I should live going forward—but the sleep demon left me no time to ponder.
The next morning.
“Wow, I feel so refreshed.”
Is that what a fit body feels like? I sprang up from bed feeling fresh as soon as morning came. Even after yesterday’s big ordeal, I didn’t feel tired at all.
Maybe because I’d been close to the explosion site, the joints and muscles that had been aching felt like they’d been replaced with new ones.
“Hooray for muscles.”
Standing before the mirror, I rolled up my pajama sleeves to my forearms and checked the subtly muscular arms. I’d noticed them when I washed up last night too—heroes really had a lot of muscle. Overnight I’d somehow become the proud owner of blessed core strength.
This might be a benefit.
With a healthy body gained without much effort, I opened my inventory and took out the clothes I’d worn yesterday. I was about to go see Belinda at her office, and it felt a bit weird to go in pajamas.
…Maybe I should have washed them last night.
I inspected the clothes and was surprised. Apart from the small tear caused by the explosion, the soot stains that had covered them were completely gone.
“What the—? An automatic laundry function? Inventory, you’re totally busted (in a good way)!”
I could mend the tear later. Just having the cleaning taken care of was already great. The clothes in my inventory smelled like they’d been dried in the sun—fresh and fluffy. Now that I thought about it, even when I put the pajamas on yesterday they felt warm, as if just taken from the dryer.
Hoping for the same effect tonight, I folded the pajamas nicely and put them back in the inventory.
So, what was next…? Right, I was supposed to visit Belinda’s office. After that, I could roam the island freely and do whatever I wanted.
But first, food. With all this muscle, my fuel economy was terrible.
With my stomach growling, I went down to the basement. The aroma of delicious food hit me even on the stairs.
“Hello.”
“Oh! New hero! Welcome!”
Aunt Bess—the kitchen lady I’d been formally introduced to last night—waved cheerfully at me.
“What’s for breakfast today? Oh, toast…!”
It was a street-food-style toast packed with cabbage and eggs. I got the sense there were protagonists in other isekai stories who’d miss Korean food, but I didn’t feel that way.
“What would you like to drink? Milk or fruit juice?”
“Milk, please!”
My friends always teased me for it, but I always paired baked goods with plain milk. While everyone else ordered americanos, I stubbornly stuck with milk.
I grabbed the toast with both hands and took a big bite.
So good…!
It was a flavor that immediately chased away my worries.
After finishing my meal, I returned the tray and headed for the office.
But when I arrived at the office—where the game had allowed unlimited access day and night—I was taken aback.
The door was locked.
What the heck? In the game it didn’t matter what time it was; you could use any facility anytime. Shocked, I realized I still had game-like thinking in my head. Of course Belinda and the other staff were human and needed to sleep.
A small sign said they worked from 9:00 to 18:00. I’d checked the time when leaving the dorm and it had been around 8:30. The office would open in about thirty minutes, so I had a bit of time to kill.
“Hmm, maybe I’ll take a walk nearby.”
Down the hill was a plaza with a view of the sea—a scenic spot where screenshots came out pretty. I shrugged and headed that way. I didn’t have a camera to capture the scene, but at least I could keep it in my memory.
A white fountain, flowerbeds planted in vivid colors, and beyond them the endless horizon. I was enjoying the beautiful view when I heard a rustle nearby.
“Who’s that?”
Curious, I turned toward the sound and found Adrian Plierus standing there.
Eek, he startled me. Lately I’d run into him by chance more often than not.
“Ah, good morning,” I said awkwardly.
Over the monitor I’d been fawning—how could he be so handsome? My favorite character really was the best—but meeting him in person made me feel shy for some reason.
“What are you doing here at this hour?” Adrian asked in a slightly prickly tone.
If I didn’t know him well, that tone might have hurt my feelings, but I knew that despite the rough words, Adrian worried about the protagonist—me—more than anyone, so I wasn’t offended.
“Well, I had some business with Belinda, but she wasn’t in yet. So I was just walking around nearby.”
I laughed awkwardly as I answered. Adrian sighed loudly and scolded me.
“…It’s a time when most people haven’t come to work yet. Who’s going to recognize you for being diligent this early? The goddess isn’t going to reward you for getting up early. You don’t need to push yourself. Rest when others rest.”
See? He speaks harshly, but he really is worried about me.
Of course his words came from a misunderstanding, but still. I wasn’t exactly a diligent person. I’d just woken up early because I’d gone to bed early last night; I still tended to sleep when others did and rest when others rested.
“Ahaha, actually I just slept really early last night, so I happened to wake up early. I’m not particularly diligent—don’t worry. I usually rest when others rest and rest when others work,” I said, smiling brightly and boasting.
Adrian’s sharp gaze softened a little at that.
“Then that’s a relief….”
“Thanks for worrying about me. Really. I think you’re probably the only one who would worry like this about me, Adrian.”
I wiped the faint smile from my face and spoke seriously. I meant it. While playing the game, I’d always felt that way—Adrian was the only one who worried about my character. He’d even sacrificed himself for my character once.
